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Roberts denied review by U.S. Supreme Court

Tuesday, November 6, 2018 - 12:18:13 PM

David Lee Roberts

HAMILTON - A Marion County death row inmate will not have his case reviewed by the nation’s highest court.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced its denial writs of certiorari, or their requests for the justices to review the case of David Lee Roberts, 52, of Detroit, who is serving a death sentence for his role in the April 22, 1992, murder of Anereta Jones during a robbery attempt in Marion County.
No opinion concerning the denials were offered for his denied review.
The victim died of three gunshot wounds to the head. Roberts was 26 years old at the time.
He also attempted to burn the victim’s house located near the Lamar County line on County Road 26 along with the victim’s body inside, according to records provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections.
Max Brasher was Marion County sheriff at the time and conducted the initial investigation. Al Tidwell was the presiding district attorney.
He robbed the victim of $140 during the commission of the crimes. He was convicted on Dec. 15, 1992, before being sentenced to death on May 4, 1994.
Roberts has been held in the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore since his conviction.
Alabama Department of Corrections Public Information Manager Bob Horton told the Journal Record that to his knowledge, Roberts’ execution date has not been set.
In 2015, Roberts was included in a lawsuit with convicted murder-for-hire Marion County suspect Tommy Arthur, challenging the method used for execution, objecting that lethal injection was cruel. The lawsuit asked for a firing squad instead and was ultimately rejected.
Arthur was Marion County’s most-recently executed criminal, which took place on May 26, 2017, at the age 75, after he successfully delayed his execution date seven times.
He was on death row for 34 years for the 1982 murder of Troy Wicker.

Former district attorney Jack Bostick said in February 2016 that prosecutors would likely pursue the death penalty for Jimmy Cooper, 59, who is charged with two counts of capital murder for the double homicide of Hamilton residents Linda Cole and Donny Miller.